The invention relates generally to a coupling device and more particularly to a coupling device for linking a cellular telephone antenna mount on an automobile with equipment for testing the operation of cellular telephones.
Because automobile manufacturers are now installing cellular telephones into vehicles on the assembly line, a need exists to quickly and accurately test the integrity of the installed telephone. Antenna whips for the phones are typically mounted to an antenna coupling element located on the outside of the rear window. However, it would be desirable to defer installation of the antenna whips until after the vehicles are transported to the point of sale. Therefore, telephone testing is preferably performed without antennas. Test equipment has been developed to test the integrity of the cellular telephone by directly coupling to the antenna coupling element. Methods used to connect to the antenna coupling element include alligator clips or screw-on connectors. However, these methods of connecting test equipment have proven to give nonrepeatable results because they are susceptible to interference from machinery in the plant, the position of the connecting wire, and sensitivity to nearby human bodies. Furthermore, using a screw-on connector also has the problem of being time consuming to install.
It would be desirable to have a method of quickly connecting test equipment to obtain repeatable and accurate test results.